"Weekend Travel to Washington D.C."

Posted on
December 21, 2017

Hello everyone! If you are following me on Instagram you have noticed that I spent the last couple days in the capital. And if you are not, then you should check my insta like rn... Just saying that my friends think is #goals. I had been wanting to do a solo travel for a while now, but I could never choose a date or destination. And then was the "But i don't want to travel alone because..." whatever excuse you can come up, I said it. But last Friday I was pretty much forced to unexpectedly travel to Washington and omg it was an unbelievably amazing weekend!

In this post, I will tell you the good, the bad, and the must of D.C. and why it was the perfect destination for my first solo travel.

Museums, museums, and more museums...So, in case you don't know it, there is an looot of museums and art galleries in Washington D.C. There are like 15ish Smithsonians museums which are not only far from incredible, but they also have free admission #brokecollegestudent. Even though you may think "ugh museums are so boring" or "museums are not my thing..." I think you should give it a try. Smithsonians museums have a lot to offer.Now... I am a sucker for museums and they are my happy places in this world, but for real they are amazing!

National Air and Space Museum

As you all know, I am an engineering student with a passion for physics and astronomy. So obviously I had to check out this museum. The National Air and Space Museum was actually the first I visited and I was sooo excited about everything.They have this amazingly big airplanes and spaceships hanging and you can even touch a piece of the moon!

National Art Gallery

I had always been interested in art, but this past semester I took a Design in 2-D class which was pretty much drawing and painting. I learned so much about art history, techniques, and movements that now I can appreciate art in a whole new level. Been able to be inches away from renowned paintings was just woah! I got to see artworks by Matisse, Monet, and even Van Gogh! Little art history lesson: This two paintings above are Monet's "Rouen Cathedral." He is an impressionist painter known for painting the same places or objects at different times of the day aka different lighting. For Monet, the effects of light were as important as the object itself. Btw, I really like Monet. Btw 2, I may or may not have cried when I saw this.

Pro Tip: Make sure to visit the East building, they actually have cool stuff there, too. If you cross through the tunnel,you will be encountered with this magical light sculpture by the American artist Leo Villareal.

Smithsonian Natural History Museum

Probably this picture elephant is familiar to you and it is because it appeared in "Night at the Museum 2." So yeah I was not only fangirling about the museums and the knowledges acquired and exhibitons seen, I was also fangirling about seen everything from the movie.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Other fun and breathe taking museums that you MUST visit are the National American History Museum and the Renwick Gallery. The first have really fun exhibitions on American TV shows, pop culture, and movies. You can even see the actual "Indian Jones" fedora! On the other hand, Renwick Gallery is always changing their exhibitions. When I visited, they had the coolest art exhibitions ever. There were doll houses with murdered dolls and you had to look around and come up with a theory of what happened.My point is: Don't overlook the museums!Monuments and Architecture

You can't go to D.C. and not see the monuments... Specially the Washington Monument since it is pretty tall and you can see it from all downtown. Even though the monuments at the National Mall are the most iconic, it is worth it to visit the ones a little farther.

I am not only a sucker for museums but for architecture, too. I loved walking around downtown and checking out the different buildings, there is something about the mixture of French and Rome inspired buildings, medieval styles, and contemporary materials that make Washington architecture so amazing.

Fun fact: Even though the day that I got to Washington it was freezing, the city was so magical with snow. Sadly I don't have good pictures while snowing cause cold hands are not nice. But here is a photo of the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool completely frozen.

Best (Vegetarian) EatsEven though I was always in the run, trying to check out all the museums, galleries, and monuments in D.C., I also made time to check out a few vegetarian friendly restaurants. Even though I like sticking with what I already know, it was pretty hard to find chain restaurants in downtown. Most of the restaurants in D.C. are family owned small places with delicious food and friendly staff. Wicked Waffle

My gastronomic adventure started at Wicked Waffle and it was to good to be real! They had sweet and savory waffles. I tried the mozzarella, tomato, and arugula sandwich and it was delicious! There's waffles are not really dense, but kinda thin and toasted, giving it the perfect crunch.

Georgetown Cupcakes

Like two years ago when I was in Boston I visited their location there, but being able to actually walked into the place that it all started... I would be lying if I say I didn't fangirl (internally). I had been watching D.C. Cupcakes since I was 14, I couldn't help it... I had a Holiday's special, Rudolph Red Velvet Cupcake and it was to die for. #fluffy

Ladurée

If you are looking for a vegan place in town Hip City Veg is a must. They have the best vegan burgers and sweet potato fries ever. Another good place is Buredo, which pretty much serve sushi burritos to die for. I wish I have a picture of my meals in these two places but I was hangry. Your girl gotta eat!Other Stuff...

Washington Cathedral I almost didn't visit this because it was kind of far from downtown but omg I would have missed the most impressive cathedral ever. This is a magnificent place and no words or photos would ever be fair to it... It is a must! Union Station

This is not only one of the prettiest buildings ever (I am a sucker for architecture), it also have a lot of stores and restaurants. And let's not forget about the Christmas tree the Swedish gift every year. Museum Gift Shops The truth is the museum and art galleries in D.C. have the best souvenirs in the whole town. I actually bought many art postcards and an actual dream catcher to decorate my new bedroom (did I mention I'm moving?).

Pro Tip: Make a quick stop and say hi to the Father of Modern Physics. He is located right across from the Lincoln Memorial, in front of the National Academy of Sciences.

During this quick visit I literally fell in love with the city. There is so much to see and places to admire, I wished I had more time so I could have actually spent more time admiring the details. When I visited the National Gallery of Art, I sat down for like 10 minutes and just admire the ceiling, it was beautiful (and I was tired...).

So this is pretty much my 4-day trip to Washington D.C., have you been to D.C.? Please comment if I missed something amazing because I am for sure going back?